Woman arrested in connection to West Campus Subway robberies

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police arrested a 42-year-old woman who they say robbed several Subways in the West Campus area since the beginning of the year.

Authorities arrested Dietra Lashell Lee, who was wanted in connection with the robberies, on Friday.

On Jan. 19, two Subways were robbed on the same day within a few minutes of each other. The first one was at 3:45 p.m. at the restaurant located at 2323 San Antonio St. In both cases the suspect was described as a black woman in her 30s or 40s.

On Friday, Feb. 2, the Subway located at 500 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd was robbed around 8:43 p.m. An employee told detectives the female suspect bought two cookies and then gave them a note that read, “I have a gun. Give me the cash in the drawer. I’ll shoot.”

According to an arrest warrant, the suspect showed the employee a “bulge in the waistband of her pants.” After getting the cash, the suspect “left with the cookies.”

A short time after the robbery, officers picked up Lee a few blocks away from the scene. According to the warrant, Lee had a flashlight in her waistband and a cookie in her possession. However, when the officers brought Lee back to the crime scene, the witness was not able to identify her as the suspect.

At the time, the officers released her. The following day, after going through surveillance video from the store and nearby parking garage, detectives determined Lee was the person in question, the only difference was that she had a purse when officers stopped her.

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